The discovery of an old copy of Memory Lane prompted Lynn Summers to reflect on the years he spent at his Oxford school.

Thousands of boys were taught at Southfield Grammar School, off Glanville Road, East Oxford, during its 32-year existence.

Mr Summers, who has lived in Coventry since 1976, was a pupil in the 1950s and has fond memories of his schooldays.

He writes: “My wife Anne and I have lived in Oxford, Llanelli, Abingdon and Coventry; I moved around in the motor industry as both our fathers did, being ex-Welsh coal miners.

“We occasionally visit Oxford to see friends. On our last visit I bought the Oxford Mail and saw Memory Lane.

“The copy of the paper has just resurfaced in my art room where I do my sketching and painting – first taught to me by Basil Kohler at Southfield. The laws of perspective were drummed into us by dear old Basil and I’ve never forgotten them.

“What a wonderful time I had at Southfield and what wonderful memories I still have.

“There was ‘Nodger’ Cross, the chemistry teacher with his iron discipline, and his ‘Mr Whiskers’, the black-bristled brush he used to slap our hands with if we dared touch any of the chemical bottles on the benches in the chemistry lab without his specific instruction.

“Mr Slater, a maths teacher, who once rebuked one of my classmates with an unrepeatable phrase for a wrong answer he had given!

“I remember the mayhem we used to kick up in music lessons in the hall with ‘Bonce’ Pearson, and the displays we gave under the instruction of George Kirk on sports day in front of parents when we would vault over the boxes and horses on the sports field.

“My brother Raymond left Southfield to join Oxfordshire Police as a cadet. That was the only job he had. He died at the age of 37, already a detective sergeant and, in my opinion, destined for great things.

“I am sure fellow pupils have their own memories of the school.”

Southfield fused together two long-established Oxford schools – the Oxford Municipal Secondary School, whose buildings in St Ebbe’s had been condemned at the start of the 20th century, and the Central Boys School, which suffered similarly in cramped quarters in a corner of Gloucester Green.

A new school had been talked about for more than 20 years. It finally opened on October 15, 1934, after the 320 pupils had enjoyed a prolonged summer holiday.

Pupils and staff gathered in one of the two playgrounds on a chilly autumn day to hear the chairman of governors speak about the views of Plato on education.

One master later recalled: “They then filed away to the few classrooms awaiting them but these were no less chillY, for the heating plant, like the hall, the gymnasium and laboratories, was not yet completed.”

The war years proved difficult for the school as it hosted 400 boys from St Clement Danes Grammar School in Hammersmith, who were evacuated from London.

Oxford Mail:

  • First fifteen: Southfield rugby team in 1947. Back, from left: Brugh, P Busby, E Baker, JC Robinson (master in charge), ‘Taff’ Davies, Gynne, B Lardner. Middle: B Hathaway,
    J Rolfe, B Draper, M Tyler, G Walker, R Hickman, P Walker. Front: H Manger, G Phipps

Initially, the two schools that used the buildings had alternate morning and afternoon classes.

Younger members of staff left to join the forces and there were frequent reports of members of the 1934 intake of pupils being killed in battle, many of them serving with the Royal Air Force.

The school celebrated its 21st anniversary in 1955 with a firework display, but the name of Southfield would not last much longer.

In 1966, it merged with the City of Oxford High School for Boys to form Oxford School, on the Southfield site. It is now known as Oxford Spires Academy.

* Any more memories of Southfield School to share with readers? Write and let me know.